Chapter 2359: Return to the Starry Sky

Novel:

“Is this the Star Abyss Gate you mentioned, fellow Daoist?” Yan Yao stood beside Lu Ye, looking at the red vortex not far away with great interest.

Since the Variegated Human Race was to send troops to assist the Starry Sky, Lu Ye had naturally already explained the situation in the Starry Sky to the Four Great Families, so it was not surprising that Yan Yao knew about the Star Abyss Gate.

“Exactly,” Lu Ye nodded.

“Can a few of us old fellows go through? If so, we should be able to lend you a hand, fellow Daoist.”

Lu Ye shook his head, “Passage through the Star Abyss Gate is restricted. Currently, only cultivators of the Seventh Path and below can pass. Perhaps cultivators of the Half-Dao realm will be allowed through in the future, but that will undoubtedly be a long time from now. I appreciate your kind intentions, family heads. Drawing three thousand Path-Realm cultivators is already sufficient for now. You all can focus on achieving the Harmonious Dao realm.”

Yan Yao and the others all nodded.

“Then I will proceed according to plan. Please feel free to do as you wish, family heads,” Lu Ye said.

Huang Chen said, “The safety of the Starry Sky is important, fellow Daoist, please go ahead. You don’t need to worry about us here; arrangements have been made within Variegated. If we are fortunate enough to advance to the Harmonious Dao realm, we shall meet again in the Inner Realm someday!”

“Then I wish you all the best!”

“We’ll take your auspicious words.”

The family heads departed. Now that Variegated had stabilized, they could not interfere with matters in the Starry Sky. All that remained for them was to achieve the Harmonious Dao.

However, advancing to the Harmonious Dao realm was not an easy feat. In the short term, these four would certainly remain in the vicinity, frequently moving between the Outer and Inner Realms to seek opportunities for Harmonious Dao advancement. With them staying here to assist, Lu Ye did not need to worry too much about the remaining matters.

Lu Ye turned his head towards Old Duan. His divine sense surged, and he transmitted a few words.

Old Duan nodded slightly, indicating that with him and Yin Luo present, there was no need to worry much here.

Only then did Lu Ye look at the three thousand Path-Realm cultivators who had been selected: “All of you, follow me.”

He took the lead, flying towards the Star Abyss Gate, with a mighty procession following behind him.

Originally, many Star Abyss cultivators above the Seventh Path, led by those in the Half-Dao realm, were gathered near the Star Abyss Gate. However, as Lu Ye approached with his troops, they all instinctively made way.

Soon, they arrived before the Star Abyss Gate.

“Currently, the Star Abyss Gate allows passage for those below the Seventh Path. What you need to do after following me inside is simple: eradicate all Star Abyss enemies invading the Starry Sky. Those among you who are above the Seventh Path cannot pass for now. Please be patient and enter when passage becomes available. At that time, I will leave people at the exit to guide you on what to do once you enter the Starry Sky.”

The three thousand Path-Realm cultivators all assented.

The Star Abyss beings originally gathered nearby listened, and cold sweat broke out on all of them. While this number of people wasn't particularly large, they had clearly witnessed Lu Ye's formidable display when he forcefully slew the Twin Demon Race member earlier. With such a powerful individual intending to guard the Starry Sky on the other side, what good could come to those who rashly intruded?

For a time, many Star Abyss cultivators harbored thoughts of retreat.

“I’ll go first!” Lu Ye said, then stepped forward to the Star Abyss Gate.

Feeling a little apprehensive, he ultimately took a step and walked into the red vortex.

Lu Ye was afraid he wouldn't be able to get in!

Because passage through the Star Abyss Gate was restricted, and he was now in the Half-Dao realm.

Fortunately, such a thing did not happen.

As early as when he left the Starry Sky years ago, Lu Ye had vaguely glimpsed a truth — the Star Abyss Gate's restrictions were specifically for Star Abyss beings.

Of course, when the Star Abyss Gate first opened, even Path-Realm cultivators couldn't pass through, yet he still emerged from it. At that time, Lu Ye possessed the power of fifteen paths. The reason was that he was a Starry Sky cultivator, unaffected by this restriction.

Over the years, Lu Ye's strength had grown tremendously, but under the influence of the Talent Tree, his aura remained pure and untainted. Therefore, strictly speaking, he was still a Starry Sky cultivator and had not been corrupted by the Star Abyss's aura.

The Star Abyss Gate's restrictions were utterly useless against him.

Stepping into the familiar passage, Lu Ye immediately looked around.

He recalled that when he had emerged from it years ago, strange entities had appeared in the passage and attacked him. He had fought his way through.

But upon his return today, no such situation occurred. He wondered why.

Without hesitation, he quickly moved forward.

Soon, he reached the end of the passage. On the other side was the Starry Sky where he was born!

He took a step, and the world spun!

Even though the aura of the Star Abyss still lingered all around, Lu Ye still knew that he had returned!

This Star Abyss aura had continuously invaded over the years due to the open Star Abyss Gate.

His divine sense spread out, and Lu Ye quickly detected many life forces nearby. However, the more he probed, the more alarmed he became, because the Star Abyss aura continuously covered the entire range of his divine sense, not receding even at its very limit.

This undoubtedly meant that the Star Abyss's invasion had been rapid over the years.

What worried him was that none of the life forces he sensed were familiar to him, nor did any belong to the human race.

The situation was not good.

The current situation undoubtedly meant that the Starry Sky's resistance was quite disheartening; otherwise, he would not have failed to detect traces of his own people in such a vast area.

Although it was somewhat expected, Lu Ye was still deeply pained when faced with the reality.

Suddenly, a life force appeared behind him. Without looking, Lu Ye knew it was the three thousand Path-Realm cultivators beginning to follow him into the Starry Sky.

Turning his head, he saw that the first to emerge was a female cultivator. She was slightly startled, evidently not expecting Lu Ye to still be there, and quickly clasped her hands, saying, “Huang Cui’er greets Senior Uncle Lu.”

He’s already a senior uncle...

However, with Lu Ye currently in the Half-Dao realm, it wasn't wrong for a Path-Realm cultivator to address him as such.

“Are you a member of the Huang family?” Lu Ye asked.

Huang Cui’er quickly replied, “Yes, old family head Huang Chen is my great-grandfather.”

Huang Chen and the others had already relinquished their positions as family heads. After this journey out of Variegated, they did not intend to return. For them, there were no other options for the rest of their lives: either die of old age outside, or successfully advance to the Harmonious Dao realm and enter the Inner Realm.

Lu Ye nodded, “You stay here and instruct those who follow to clear out all invading enemies.”

“Yes!” Huang Cui’er promptly accepted the order.

Lu Ye flashed and darted to the side, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

From this moment on, slaughter began within the area covered by the Star Abyss aura.

Lu Ye condensed a Talent Tree clone, splitting himself into two. Wherever he passed, a bloody storm ensued. The Star Abyss beings below the Seventh Path had no idea who had killed them.

For several days straight, Lu Ye was engaged in slaughter.

Killing these Star Abyss Path-Realm beings naturally wouldn't yield Star Abyss Coins, but he could obtain Dao Bones, which could be quite substantial when accumulated.

The Star Abyss invasion was faster than anticipated, because almost the entire Illusory Extermination Star System was covered by the Star Abyss aura. Within such a vast area, invading Star Abyss beings were everywhere.

Lu Ye was immensely grateful to have drawn three thousand Path-Realm cultivators from Variegated. Even if only half of that number entered this time, it was still a great help. Otherwise, if he were to clear out these invading enemies alone, it would take an unimaginable amount of time and effort.

Although the Variegated cultivators who entered now only possessed Seventh Path strength, they had Dao artifacts. Even the lowest-grade Dao artifacts could enhance their power by one path, allowing them to naturally gain an advantage in combat.

He hadn't found any traces of his own people until this moment, when Lu Ye suddenly detected the aftermath of a fight in the distance.

He quickly went to investigate the situation.

Similar occurrences had happened before, but each time the result had disappointed Lu Ye, as both sides of the conflict were invading enemies.

Even after invading the Starry Sky, Star Abyss beings did not necessarily coexist peacefully. They would still hunt each other to obtain Dao Bones and strengthen themselves, so such conflicts were unavoidable.

Only near the already open Star Abyss Gate were conflicts not permitted.

This time, Lu Ye didn't hold much hope.

But surprises could be so sudden.

When he followed the commotion and arrived at the location, he suddenly discovered that one of the combatants was a human, and somewhat familiar!

The one he was clashing with was undoubtedly a Star Abyss cultivator.

The two seemed to be of similar strength, and it was unknown how long they had been fighting. As they were fiercely battling, Lu Ye flashed past, and one of them instantly died!

The human was greatly startled, and quickly adopted a defensive stance. After discerning Lu Ye's appearance, he first froze, then exclaimed with great joy, “Brother Lu!”

“Brother Gu, long time no see!”

The person before him was none other than Gu Sheng, whom he had met in the Asura Arena back then. This fellow was the most dazzling rising star of the Dragon Yellow Realm of his generation. He had once competed with Aburo of the Ancient Barbarian Tribe for a spot on the Moon Realm Rank in the Asura Arena, only for both of them to get beaten up by Lu Ye.

The Asura Arena later closed. Gu Sheng and Aburo also returned to their respective realms to advance to the Sunlight Realm. Since then, Lu Ye had not seen Gu Sheng again.

However, years ago, while chatting with Gu Yunliu, the Realm Master of the Dragon Yellow Realm, Lu Ye had inquired about Gu Sheng's situation, and learned that he had already advanced to the Sunlight Realm.

After all, as the most outstanding cultivator of his generation in the Dragon Yellow Realm, advancing to the Sunlight Realm was not actually difficult for him.

Yet, unexpectedly, upon seeing him again today, Gu Sheng had already reached the Path-Realm, and his strength was quite good, seemingly at the Seventh Path.

“I only returned a few days ago. What’s the situation now? Why can't I find anyone else?” Lu Ye asked.

Gu Sheng sighed upon hearing this, “Let’s go, I’ll take you back to the War Fortress, and we can talk along the way.”

Lu Ye raised an eyebrow. The War Fortress was still standing, which meant the situation wasn't as bad as he thought?

As they proceeded, through Gu Sheng's description, Lu Ye gradually learned about the current situation in the Illusory Extermination Star System.

It was indeed grim, but not as bad as he had imagined. Truthfully, it could only be described as a stroke of luck amidst misfortune.

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